Cricket Bowling Average Calculator

Cricket Bowling Average Formula

Bowling average = bowler-charged runs / wickets credited to the bowler

Use the Bowling Figures

Take the runs charged to the bowler and the wickets credited to that bowler from the same scorebook sample. The sample may be one spell, a match, a tournament, or a career. Run outs do not increase a bowler’s wicket count. A team’s total wickets lost is therefore not necessarily the correct denominator.

Choose the Missing Quantity

The default mode divides runs by wickets. Maximum runs at target average fixes a wicket count and finds the greatest whole number of runs consistent with the requested average. Minimum wickets at target average fixes charged runs and finds the least whole wicket count meeting that target. Lower bowling averages are the direction used by these planning modes.

Worked Example

A bowler concedes 120 runs and takes five credited wickets. The average is 120 / 5 = 24.00 runs per wicket. With those 120 runs fixed, reaching an average of at most 20 requires six wickets. With five wickets fixed, a target average of at most 20 allows 100 runs. These are alternative arithmetic scenarios, not simultaneous changes to the same figures.

Why Whole-Count Rounding Matters

For a 23.5 target and three wickets, the unrounded run limit is 70.5. The maximum whole-run allowance is 70, producing 23.33 runs per wicket. For 71 charged runs and the same 23.5 target, 71 / 23.5 is about 3.021 wickets. Four wickets are needed to be at or below the target.

Zero Wickets and Zero Runs

With no credited wickets, the bowling average is undefined. The calculator shows Not defined rather than reporting zero or infinity. Zero charged runs with at least one credited wicket is a valid zero average. Target-wicket calculations require a positive target average and at least one resulting wicket so the average can exist.

Aggregate a Season Correctly

Add charged runs across the chosen matches and separately add credited wickets. Divide those totals. Averaging match bowling averages would give a one-wicket performance the same weight as a five-wicket performance and would omit wicketless spells if their averages were ignored. Those wicketless runs still belong in the aggregate numerator.

Compare Like with Like

Bowling average measures run cost per wicket. Economy measures run cost per over, and bowling strike rate measures balls per wicket. Comparing formats, roles, and sample sizes helps explain why the measures can point in different directions. This calculator does not label figures elite or poor using unsupported universal bands.

Assumptions and Limits

The inputs are nonnegative whole counts and target averages may contain up to six decimal places. The tool does not determine how runs or wickets should be attributed, nor whether the target wickets remain available in a match. Use accurate scorebook totals and a precise target at rounding boundaries.

Reference Table

Sources

Cricket Australia, player statistics definitions and scorecard fields, accessed September 2026. MCC, Laws of Cricket, Law 18, Scoring Runs.